First Impressions / K-ON!

「夏フェス！」 (Natsu Fesu!)
“Summer Festival!”

For an episode centered entirely around attending a huge summer music festival where tens of thousands of people camp out on a mountain, things were surprisingly uneventful in K-ON land. There were some quirky moments after Sawako surprised everyone in Yui’s home with six tickets she had after her friends bailed on their yearly event together, most of which revolved around Mio’s eagerness to attend every single performance and run back and forth between each of the stage areas if need be. Logic totally went out the window for Mio in her trance-like state, as seven hundred meters of distance didn’t even deter her from trying to do so in the middle of performances. Remember when Mio used to be the level-headed one? Anyway, her excitement was mildly entertaining to see, whereas Mugi’s one over eating yakisoba just made me damn hungry for some.

Unfortunately for Mugi, the yakisoba food stand was extremely popular and sold out before she could buy any, so they resorted to Yui’s plan B marinara rice option only to find out that it’s sold out as well. Given the lack of gags compared to last week’s episode with exploding fans, Yui’s whiny reaction of all things ended up being one of the funnier moments. I’m never really expecting this series to be funny all the time, but this summer festival proved to be a little dull even by K-ON standards. It was still cute to see and had a nice change of scenery with Sawako sort of leading the humor with her summer festival experience, but not too eventful even with Yui’s antics. Seeing Mio react to a sight of one of the male musicians may seem like a turning point in her character, but sadly it stemmed purely from the fact that he’s left-handed too. I guess that goes to show you need to be a southpaw to have a remote chance of getting picked up by Mio’s radar. Azusa on the other hand proved that she tans really easily even with sunscreen on — much like in the first season — though given how she’s all ganguro now I’m more inclined to say she’s sunburned than suntanned.

The scene at night with them all lying on the grass together had a really nice ambiance to it, which somehow spurred Yui to say that Houkago Tea Time is better than the bands here. Apparently she thinks their cutesy aura has more oomph, but regardless of whether she’s delusional or not, it did serve to get everyone excited about performing again. Who knows, we might see another performance sooner than later at this rate. The next episode looks like it’s going to be a pool one where Ui and Jun will get some more screen time, but has me wondering exactly how much more sun Azusa needs. Oh well, swimsuit episode it is! I’m not complaining.

* syoboi calendar‘s been updated indicating that K-ON will run for 26 episodes. It was uncertain whether it was going to be 24-26 episodes but now it’s been confirmed.

 

Preview

48 Comments

  8. Two things caught my attention in this ep.

    1.) Good BGM placement. I never really cared about the BGM on K-ON! but I liked BGM on the bus and the stargazing part.
    2.) Mugi is hella entertaining in this ep. Makes me wonder how the upcoming manga adaptations are going to be. 🙂

    On a side note… As much as this scene looks cute, it also looks a hella painful considering the rocky terrain. 😛

    Overall good ep!

    megalith
    Reply

  11. I kind of agree about the manga being more amusing. It’s kind of surprised me how much they haven’t adapted in this season from the manga. I feel like they’re trying to stretch out the series by writing anime original stories because they know it’s so popular. But I’m left wondering if they’ll ever get to cover that stuff from the manga.

    And the thing is, I’m having a hard time imagining a third season because of their storyline pacing. The first season (14 episodes) covers the first two years of high school, whereas the first 12 of season two take place in their third year. That’s already such a dramatically slowed down time line. I never really understood why they started the season in third year, I think they should have started half way through second. They skipped a lot of great material from that second year and an excuse to elongate the series without pissing off fans. Since S2 starts in third year, that seems to have wiped out their possibilities for a third season doesn’t it? (assuming that the story ends at graduation, which many stories like this do, and that graduation takes place this season.)

    Maybe it stems somehow from an attempt to give Kalifly more time to create material and a desire to not create another three year wait between seasons (i.e. Suzumiya Haruhi.) Or maybe KyoAni just thinks they can do original anime (which they can’t i.e. sora wo miageru shoujo no hitomi ni utsuru sekai.) Either way, I’m still enjoying season two, but perhaps with a little less vigor and a bit more worrying since season one.

    And as a side note, I’m pissed off that Mugi doesn’t like girls’ love anymore!! That was SOOOO funny! -___-

    innerchihiro
    Reply

  13. a great summer rock festival, and I still thought they were performing it from the previous preview…

    man maybe I could get some chance to see some REAL rock fes, seriously. and what’s happening next week anyway? anyone drop a hint or something? looks like more of summer stuff only…

    is this season ending? if not, when would it? personally wouldn’t want it to end though…

    kaineng
    Reply

  14. “I guess that goes to show you need to be a southpaw to have a remote chance of slipping under Mio’s radar.”

    Doesn’t “slipping under the radar” usually imply stealth? (I.e.: not being detected) You WANT to be detected by a cutie like Mio.

    Anyway, I guess Mio won’t notice you unless you’re left-handed… I’m a right-handed guy myself, but what the hell…I still like her nonetheless.

    With that out of the way…

    I liked the lead-up to this scene, which focused on Mio’s…ahem…assets…

    Let’s headbang!

    Incognito
    Reply

      1. Well, that’s what I get for also being a military fanboy. Don’t worry ’bout it though, I know what you meant to say.

        I help when I can, yeah? (Even just a little.)

        Incognito
        Reply

  15. Under her radar? Eh? It’s more like she’s just excited to see someone playing left-handed. You know… similar to how left handed instruments make her go crazy too.

    t3hf4d3
    Reply

  19. Would be nice if season 2 ends with them actually performing at next years Summerfest. I love this show but it still pisses me off that a show about music and a high school rock band has very little actual music in it. Every 5-6 episodes should have a song in it and the whole song not a 5 second riff.

    Karmafan
    Reply

  22. I’m so happy I’m lefty … Mio look all my house items are from the lefty store!! Even go t a clock that goes left!
    I loved Sawa-chan jeans with cuts in them, now another cut/hole under the left side back pocket ….sweet.
    I don’t think Azu was burned because this will hurt a lot.
    Yes the humor was a bit down; but Yui’s comment about being a band forever could mean good things in the future probably college k-on anyone?

    Island Esper
    Reply

  24. I love it when Sawa-chan went back because she was headbanging too much and then suddenly turns around saying “YOU THOUGHT I WAS GETTING OLD JUST NOW, DIDN’T YOU.”

    I would really like more performances and songs though. Season 1 gave us at least four songs done by Ho-kago Tea Time, not including the OP, ED, and second tracks that come with both. In the same amount of time for this season we’ve only heard Pure Pure Heart and maybe the tune for that Honey Sweet Tea Time song(I think that’s what it’s called).

    akani
    Reply

  25. You seem to be assuming that whatever has been skipped now will not be animated within the next 14 episodes. As you may have noticed, KyoAni shuffled a few episodes. For example, the incident with Mio’s stalker happens in their second year, before they do the Spring cleaning in the manga. In the anime, it happens when they’re well into their third year. And I think the Kyoto school trip also happened at a different time in the manga.

    And before you complain about how fast (or slow) KyoAni is going through it, do keep in mind that the manga is doing the very same thing. The girls went through year one and two in less than 30 chapters. Right now, at chapter 49, the manga is at approximately 3/4 into the girls’ third year, so at this pace, it will probably be completed around chapter 55. And that means we’ll have went through around 28 chapters for the entire third year – pretty much the amount that was needed for the first two years. KyoAni could probably fit at least two chapters in one episode, so they added scenes or even made entire episodes from scratch using the manga as a guideline (maybe with help from Kakifly himself). And so far, I think they’re doing a good job at it. Maybe creating a full anime from scratch is too much, but expanding on source material seems perfectly doable for them.

    As for why they’re doing it, I think the answer is obvious: character development. You may have noticed that the manga doesn’t do much with characters such as Jun or even Ui. These extra chapters have made Jun an actual supporting character, rather than just an extra character we only see now and then. Heck, even Sawako got a bit more development in episode 10, on top of what we already knew about her.

    So, I think that this season has so far surpassed the first, both in entertainment and character development. And since we’re only halfway, if KyoAni animates the remaining chapters, like I expect them to, it can only get better.

    Firelord
    Reply

    1. I don’t remember “complaining” about anything. I’m not one of those people who only look at the negative, these are just some of my fears about what might happen and my uneasiness about what is happening. I’m certainly not going to call up KyoAni and lodge a complaint, they’re doing a fine job, especially with the animation. And you’re right, these anime original episodes have been fun and they do a good job with them. Although I admit I do worry when they start making too many anime original episodes, because I know that they’re not very good at it unfortunately.

      But you cannot deny that there is a big change in terms of the pacing with this series. As you said, the manga will probably double the amount of time spent in year 1 or year 2 with year 3. But KyoAni has already almost done that just with 12 episodes. By the end of the season, the time spent per year will have quadrupled since year 1.

      This is one of the many big changes in season 2. I think most people are enjoying some changes and disliking others. There’s nothing wrong with that and discussing them is just apart of watching and enjoying the series. And frankly, I don’t think anyone is to say what is “obvious” about KyoAni’s intentions. I’m skeptical about character development being the only driving force behind this pacing/changing, I’m sure it’s a combination of things.

      As I said previously, I’m still enjoying season two, but perhaps with a little less vigor and a bit more worrying since season one.

      innerchihiro
      Reply

  26. “guess that goes to show you need to be a southpaw to have a remote chance of getting picked up by Mio’s radar.”

    Ah, does that mean she might notice my humble existence? Woo-hoo! Though I remain committed to Yui, sorry Mio. 🙂

    With Yui, Ritsu and even Mugi being their usual eccentric selves, Azu-nyan has taken over Mio’s role as the band’s voice of reason, now that even Mio has reverted to her giddy child-like self in the awesome presence of these rock bands.

    I hear some new songs being played out by these bands, wonder if they’re real life bands or we’ll see Kyo-Ani release yet another CD so we might hear these songs in full.

    Anyone know what’s the name of the real life counterpart to this Glastonbury/Woodstock-like festival in Japan? Maybe I’ll try going to one of those if I ever set foot in Japan again. It’ll certainly be a different experience altogether from visiting sprawling urban metropolises like Tokyo or sightseeing around ancient temples and monuments like Kyoto, as well as taking in as much of the Japan musical scene as possible.

    (Next week, looking forward at Ui’s turn to be in a sexy swimsuit. Chronologically, this takes place just after the festival, as Azu-nyan’s tan is still seen in the preview)

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

      1. If you look at the bottom left corner of the screen at about 23:36 during the end credits you’ll notice two bands with one song each accredited to them. As far as whether these bands are fictional or not, I have no idea.

        bloo
        Reply

  33. Finally, the rock fest chapter! Mio’s change of heart is always welcome, it’s fun to see her up beat and excited. But best of all, Azu-nyan in a hat and chocolate Azu-nyan!

    fall3nbs
    Reply

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